All posts tagged "mobile"

Sunday, July 19, 2009

This week brings another Zune Marketplace freebie that you can download, play back, burn to a CD, and sync to your Zune device. You'll need a Zune account to download the free content. Clicking on the link(s) below will automatically launch the Zune software and take you to the artist's page, so please ensure that the software is installed on your PC.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

"In the first two weeks of 2008 the number of people consuming my personal podcast with the Zune is WAY up. Over all my show download numbers are up about 15%. This is the largest growth my show has seen in a very long time. What this proves is that when you put Podcast front and center in the Zune Interface like the Zune team has, and make it a integral part of the Zune MarketPlace people are bound to check podcast out. Where Apple has largely failed in iTunes is that they have made podcast hard to find and a buried feature within the iTunes Interface. Today it is nearly impossible to find content that is fresh, the iTunes podcast interface is a wasteland of thousands of podfaded shows and huge numbers of single podcast episodes put up by network marketerís."

(Sorry about the tiny image, I couldn't find anything bigger!)

Over at RawVoice, there is an incredibly interesting article up about recent podcasting trends and the Zune. In this instance users of the Zune and Zune Marketplace software make up 21.3% of their listeners! This might not seem like a lot, but take iTunes for instance, whose user base makes up only 38.7% of their listeners. Now seeing how the new Zune software and hardware has only been on the streets for a few months now, compared to the many years iTunes has been around, it appears that Apple might have to start taking the "little media player that could" a bit more seriously. Who knows, old Stevie might just take a look at this and declare that all of the Zune Marketplace users have joined good old Robbie Bach in a round a drinks, since you know, being a drunk is the only reason why anyone would want a Zune.
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"A gaming system including handheld devices and console devices has variable functionality and processing performance as determined by the number of components in the system. Gaming components can be combined wirelessly, by wired connections (e.g., via a docking station), or a combination thereof. The processing capabilities and functionality of each gaming component in a combination are augmented by the processing capabilities and functionality of other gaming components in the combination. To take advantage of another gaming components processing capabilities and memory capacity, each gaming component is capable of utilizing another gaming component to process gaming applications. Further, each gaming component is capable of rendering audio and/or video information provided by another gaming component. Also, a gaming component is capable of utilizing another gaming component as an adjunct processor."

This patent filed by Microsoft isn't a reference to Live Anywhere, but something much more. It suggests that one hardware component of a gaming ecosystem can utilize the processing capabilities of another connected component to fulfill a task. Imagine using your Pocket PC as a display or your Zune as a controller for your Xbox 360. Of course, all this is highly theoretical, and patents should always be taken with a grain of salt - at least, until they materialize. Your thoughts on the whole thing?

Friday, November 24, 2006

"If there’s one thing that every Windows Mobile device owner wishes they could forget about its battery life. It doesn’t matter if you use your device for productivity, gaming, music, video, or email – everything takes power. Who wants to think about recharging their devices? There’s nothing exciting about that – the fun comes in using them! Sadly, battery life still isn’t at the point where a single charge will last weeks, so until that happens we need to have strategies in place for getting as much use out of our Windows Mobile Smartphones and Pocket PCs as possible. If you’re the kind of user who recharges daily from home or work, you may not have to think about battery life much – even a heavily used Pocket PC or Smartphone should last a full day. If you do any traveling though, or don’t recharge your device every day, there are some power accessories that will make your battery life last a lot longer. There are many companies making accessories like the ones I mention in this article, but I’ve selected Pocket PC Techs accessories to look at for two reasons: they’re very high quality, and they just happen to have sent a few of them my way."

Pocket PC Techs' mobile power options may not be designed for the Zune, but most of them are perfectly compatible, since they utilize USB. So, whether you're at home, on the road, or in the air, you'll find an accessory or two to keep your Zune going. Visit The Two Inch View to see what Pocket PC Techs has to offer.